Dry Needling Versus Conventional Physical Therapy in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis

NCT02373631 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: AAMT0003
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 105
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The purpose of this research is to compare the effectiveness of conventional physical therapy (manual physical therapy, exercise, range of motion, and stretching) versus conventional physical therapy combined with dry needling in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Physical therapists commonly use conventional physical therapy techniques and dry needling to treat knee OA, and this study is attempting to find out if the addition of dry needling to conventional physical therapy has an equal, greater, or lesser effect than conventional physical therapy alone.

Conditions

Knee Osteoarthritis

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (5)

• Change in Knee Pain Intensity (NPRS)

  Baseline, 2 Weeks, 6 Weeks, 3 Months

• Change in Knee Osteoarthritis Index (Pain)

  5 Questions each worth 0-4 points with a maximum score of 20 points possible

  Baseline, 2 Weeks, 6 Weeks, 3 Months

• Change in Knee Osteoarthritis Index (Stiffness)

  2 Questions each worth 0-4 points with a maximum score of 8 points possible

  Baseline, 2 Weeks, 6 Weeks, 3 Months

• Change in Knee Osteoarthritis Index (Physical Function)

  17 Questions each worth 0-4 points with a maximum score of 68 points possible

  Baseline, 2 Weeks, 6 Weeks, 3 Months

• Change in Knee Osteoarthritis Index (Total)

  24 Questions each worth 0-4 points with a maximum score of 96 points possible

  Baseline, 2 Weeks, 6 Weeks, 3 Months

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Change in Global Rating of Change Score (GROC)

  2 Weeks, 6 Weeks, 3 Months

• Change in Medicine Intake (Frequency of medication intake)

  Baseline, 3 months

Study Arms (2)

Dry Needling, Conventional PT

EXPERIMENTAL

Other: Dry Needling, Conventional PT

Conventional PT

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Other: Conventional PT

Interventions

Dry Needling, Conventional PT OTHER

Dry needling to the knee and conventional physical therapy (stretching, ROM, strengthening), 1-2 treatments per week X6 weeks (up to 10 sessions total)

Dry Needling, Conventional PT

Conventional PT OTHER

Conventional physical therapy to include knee stretching, range of motion, and strengthening exercises,1-2 treatments per week X6 weeks (up to 10 sessions total)

Conventional PT

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Report of knee pain of at least 2/10 per NPRS (0---10 scale) for \>3 months
• Report of at least 3 of the following per Altman et al. (1986)
• Over 50 Years of age
• Less than 30 minutes of morning stiffness
• Crepitus on active motion
• Bony tenderness
• Bony enlargement
• No palpable warmth of synovium

You may not qualify if:

• Report of red flags to manual physical therapy to include: hypertension, infection, diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, heart disease, stroke, chronic ischemia, edema, severe varicosities, tumor, metabolic disease, prolonged steroid use, fracture, RA, osteoporosis, severe vascular disease, malignancy, etc.
• History of previous surgery to the knee
• History of physical therapy, massage therapy, chiropractic treatment, or injections for knee pain in the last 4 weeks
• History of a surgical procedure on either lower extremity in last 6 months
• Two or more positive neurologic signs consistent with nerve root compression, including any two of the following:
• Weakness involving a major muscle group of the lower extremity.
• Diminished patella or achilles tendon reflex
• Diminished or absent sensation to pinprick in lower extremity dermatome
• Involvement in litigation or worker's compensation regarding knee pain.
• Any condition that might contraindicate the use of electro-needling
• The patient is pregnant.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Alabama Physical Therapy & Acupuncture: lead
• Universidad Rey Juan Carlos: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Alabama Physical Therapy & Acupuncture

Montgomery, Alabama, 36117, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Dunning J, Butts R, Young I, Mourad F, Galante V, Bliton P, Tanner M, Fernandez-de-Las-Penas C. Periosteal Electrical Dry Needling as an Adjunct to Exercise and Manual Therapy for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Multicenter Randomized Clinical Trial. Clin J Pain. 2018 Dec;34(12):1149-1158. doi: 10.1097/AJP.0000000000000634.

  PMID: 29864043 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Osteoarthritis, Knee

Interventions

Dry Needling

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Osteoarthritis; Arthritis; Joint Diseases; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Rheumatic Diseases

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Complementary Therapies; Therapeutics; Physical Therapy Modalities

Study Officials

• James Dunning, DPT FAAOMPT

  American Academy of Manipulative Therapy

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: DPT MSc FAAOMPT

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 10, 2015
• First Posted: February 27, 2015
• Study Start: February 1, 2015
• Primary Completion: May 19, 2017
• Study Completion: May 19, 2017
• Last Updated: May 23, 2017

Record last verified: 2017-05

Locations

US (1)